Improvement in fire-arms



2 sheets-sheet 2.

HoLLINGsWoRTH sa MERSHON.,

Revolver.

:Paentfed Feb. 27,I 11855.

No. d12,470.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JEHU HOLLINGSWORTH AND RALPH S. MERSHON, OF ZANESVILLE, OHIO.

IMPROVEMENT IN FIRE-ARMS.

Specification forming part ot Letters Patent No. 12,470, dated February 27, 1855.

'and we do hereby declare the following to be a full,clear, and exact description ot' the same, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, making a part thereof, in which- Figure l represents a side view of the pistol, but with the cheeks removed to show the interior. Fig. 2 represents a vertical section taken through the line 2 2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 represents an end view at the line 3 3 ot Fig. l, looking to the right. Fig. 4 represents an end View at the line et 4 ot' Fig. l, looking to the left. Fig. 5 represents a rear view of the stock and spring-box. Fig. 6 represents a rear view of the cock or hammer. Fig. 7 represents a central longitudinal and vertical section through the stock, frame, and spring-box. Fig. 8 represents a modified form of escapement, which acts positively and not dependent upon the action of a spring. Fig. 9 rep resents a perspective View of the plate on the rear of the chambers, taken opposite the line The nature of our invention relates to the` providing of a reservoir of power capable off rotating the cylinder and operating a cock or hammer in concert, so as to produce two or more discharges from a lire-arm without replenishing said power; also, in combining a reservoir ot' power with a rotating toothed escape-wheel in such manner that at each periodical releasement of said escape-wheel by the operation ot' a trigger and anchor-escapernent the reservoir of power will rotate the cha-mbered breech to the required distance and trip an independent hammer simultaneously; also, in combining a rotating chambered breech with a reservoir of power, so that by the periodical releasement of said reservoir by means of an escape-wheel, trigger, and an anchorescapement said chambers shall be caused to ro tate to theirrequired distance and meet theblow of the hammer at the exact instant that each chamber in succession comes opposite the barrel; also, in combining a reservoir of power with an independent cock or hammer, so that by the periodical release of said reservoir ot' power said hammer shall .be tripped at the exact moment that each chamber 'of the series comes opposite the barrel also, in so combining the stock with the tire-arm that by turning said stock a spring or springs shall be wound up which shall be capable of actuating the tire-arm for a series of discharges; also, in the peculiar form of guard or protection to the hand on which the hre-arm is supported when v taking deliberate aim, so as to guard the hand from accidental discharges ot' the chambers should they occur; also, in the conical plate and ring by which the stock and spring-box are united tothe frame, so as to make a firm connection and at the same time allow the one to be turned on the other for the purpose of coiling up the spring.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use our invention, we will proceed to describe the same with reference to the drawings.

A represents the reservoir or spring-box for containing the spring, (shown in the section, Fig. 7;) B, the barrel; O, the rotating cham'- ber or breech; D, the hammer; E, the rotating toothed escape-wheel 5 F, the trigger; Gr, the latch or catch which .holdsthe chambers and barrel securely to the frame and in their places when the pistol is ready for being discharged. S in dotted lines is the spring for operating or throwing forward the hammer after it has been set or cocked, as will be described. 4

It will be perceived that there is no projection on the upper part of the pistol to ob. struct the aim; that the caps are exploded under such protection as to entirely prevent their flying into the face of the user or impeding in any manner the successful operation ot the arm. l

-The barrel B is securely fastened to the swinging frame H, which extends rearward and is hinged to the rear division-plate, O, at a, and when in its proper position thelatch or catch G, which is united to it bya collar, is brought around in front of the chamber O in such manner that it will clasp the spindle or shaft I, and at the same time the lower part of the stock or frame Y, as seen in Fig.2, and

pass between it and the ramrod J, Fig. 1,thus making a permanent fastening, which is readily removed when the tire-arm is t0 be recharged or the cylinder removed for any purpose.

M is a guard, to be hereinafter described, connected tothe latch or catch G,so that when the firearm is to be recharged it can be swung with the latch entirely out of the way of the ramrod. This guard may be detachable, and it is only important when one hand and arm 'is advanced to .support the front of the tirearm, as in rilies or shot-guns,"or when taking deliberate aim with a pistol.

-J is a ramrod slotted and connected to at hinged arm, b, by a pin, b', passing through.

said arm and slot, this arrangement admitting of the ramrod heilig drawn out, reversed, and used for ramming home the charges, and then returned to its place without being at anytime detached from theiire-arm.

The rod or spindle I extends rearward into and through the spring-box A, and has upon that portion of' it within the spring-box a hook or catch for holding one end of the coiled spring contained therein; or, as we prefer for the more readily facilitating the taking apart of the arm, we pass the end of the spindle I through a sleeve, c', Fig. 7, and connect the two together by a pin., c, Fig. 1, so that they shallturn together, and thisvsleeve c Vserves as an arbor around which the said spring is wound or compressed by the opera- Vtion of turning the stock, and upon this sleeve escape-wheel and a feather on the spindle in a 1 manner well known to inechanicians. This slot and feather may also serve as a guide for` putting together the parts always relatively The nipples, which arei in the same position. on the rear of the chamber O,extend through the escape-wheel E, (see Fig. 9,) and said eseape-whee1 protects them from injury of any kind. At each periodical releasement of the said wheel E and spring or reservoir of power by the operation of the trigger F and the anchor K, said wheel and chambers C are caused to rotate and to present each nipple successively opposite the hammer D, which hammer is, by the periodical release of the power of the coiled spring turning the shaft L, simultaneously tripped bythe action ofthe trigger on the anchor K.

The triggerF is pivoted atf and actsagainst a. bolt,f, which passes into the anchor K, so that by the drawing of the trigger backward it will raise up one end of the vanchor K, (see Fig. 4,)causing that end to catchinto oragainst one of the teeth or projections of the toothed wheel E, and throw out the other end'of said anchor, which previously held said wheel, and

thus allowing said wheel and chamber connected to it to ily a portion of a revolution and again be caught. Vhen the trigger releases the holt f then the spring fi', under the anchor, again throws up the other end thereof and again catches the wheel, and so on until all the chambers are discharged or the sprin or reservoir of power exhausted.

Many modifications forlettingout the spring may be essayed, and we have ourselves tried several of them, and among them we would particularly mention the one represented in Fig. 8. This one avoids the necessity of a springl to throw up the anchor, and removes all or any objection that might arise as to the uncertainty of the before-described plan, for as the spring becomes weakened, or if itshould break, the chambers might revolve more than their allotted distance. resented at Fig. S may he called a dead-beat escapement7 or one working with a positiveturn any farther than the given and desired distance. In this figure E may represent the escapewheel; I, the spindle, and F the trigger, which may be a permanent part of the sliding piece K, having two teeth, k 7c, so arranged that as one, 7c', is slid into the circuit of the escape-wheel the other, 7c, will be outside of said circuit, and vice versa. It will thus he seen that it is impossible for the wheel to turn farther than its'given distance, as the act of drawing out of the way one of the teeth to allow it to move at all draws the other in the precise spot for catching the rst tooth that comes around on the escape-wheel.

Instead of the boltf, as represented in Fig. l, being a separate piece from the trigger, it may he a part of the trigger itself, and release and catch the escape-'wheel as it turns by the` uncoiling of the spring.

Other forms and methods may he andhave beentried; but as they do not change the principle of working an anchor and escapement we do not consider their further notice inilportant.

If considered essential to guard against the breaking of the spring which works the anchor, a ring-trigger may be used and the anchor worked from the trigger regardless of i the spring, as the moving of the trigger forward and back by the foretlnger in the ring will operate the anchor.

In Fig. 1, L represents a brace which is a part of or connected to the latch G. Y It rests or bears against the face of the chambers, for the purpose of preventing the friction of said chamber against the end of the barrel ath, and to cause them to turn true on the spindle 1. To secure the handle or stock of our. rearm in such manner as that it may be easily turned to admit of winding up or compressing the spring, and yet not shake or work loosely, we have constructed the bearings or connections in such manner as to allow of the free operation` of the turning of the handle, and yet the wholeire-arm remain firm inthe hands The contrivance repof the user, viz: z" z", Fig. 7, represent in section a conical ring, which is fastened firmly to the box A by screws or otherwise, and jj represent a circular conical plate, tting exactly said ring fi i', said plate being fastened to the rear division-plate, O, by screws which must pass through the closed end of the spring-box, as represented in said Fig. 7, thus making at once a bearing exceedingly simple i n its construction and yet very strong, and allowing the handle and spring-box to be turned upon the frame with great readiness.

The click by which the reservoirspring in its box is held compressed after having been wound up, as before described, by turning the handle, may be arranged, as seen in Fig. 3,'

with a corresponding bolt or catch, which takes into the several teeth of the ratchetwheel, and thus holds the spring. Other means than the above may be applied, and we have used others, but only present those we find most simple and efficacious.

A bolt such as is used on many other repeating firearms may be used on this one, so that the action of the firearm may be withheld, or to preventany accidental discharge by jarring, falling, or other similar mishap, which is incidental to the use of all tire-arms. It may be so arranged as to pass between the 'escape wheel and anchor, so as to prevent any forward motion of the anchors. This would be as simple and effective an application of thebolt as any other, as to check or fasten the anchor locks all the working parts of the lire-arm.

In loading this arm, after the catch G is raised up the chamber G and escape-wheel E are slipped forward on the spindle just far enough to release said escape-wheel from the anchor, and then the twofor they are connected togetherare free to be turned around so as to meet the ramrod J, and be charged. While the chambers and escape-wheel are thus run forward the nipples can be capped, and when returned, the latch or catch put down, and the handle turned to coil the spring, the fire-arm is ready for a series of discharges.

On the rear of the escape-wheel E, as seen in Fig. 9, is a series of cam-planes, m, correspending to the number of chambers'in the revolving breech. Against these planes the end of a bolt, a, Fig. l, works las follows: When the breech-piece or chamber is released by means of the anchor and trigger, in turning, one of the planes m pushes back the bolt n and brings a shoulder, o, on said bolt against the hammer D, pushing back or cooking said hammer, and in the act of eocking it compresses a spring, s, the point of which presses against the armp of said hammer, and in this position the arm stands after each discharge, it being caught by the anchor and escapement. New, by pressing the trigger the anchor is released, the escape-wheel makes another partial rotation, bringing the nipple to the exact spot for receiving the blow of the hammer, and simultaneously letting off the hammer, which carries forward with it the bolt a for the next It may be found in winding up the; will? within in the box A, or when, for instaTlCP- 1D- is only partiallyl wound up, that the stock migh not be in exact line with the barrel. To avoid this a ratchet and pawl or ,click, as it is sometimes termed, may be used, which, when the stock or handle is turned in the direction for winding up the spring, will act together and hold,.but which, should the handle not be in exact line after the spring is wound up as far as it will go or be required, may be turned back far enough to bring it in line without letting out any part of the spring, as that is caught and held by another click, as heretofore de scribed in Fig. 3.

The guard M is so constructed vas toallow an accidental discharge of any ofthe chambers to escape without striking against any thing or endangering the hand of the user.

Having thus fully described the nature of our invention, we would state that We do not claim a reservoir of power simply for rotating the breech, as that has heretofore been done; but

What we claim therein as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. The application of a reservoir of power to the rotating of the cylinder or breech, in combination with the cooking and releasing of the hammer in concert, so as to produce two or more discharges from a repeating fire-arm without replenishing said reservoir of power, substantially as described.

2. Combining a reservoir of power with a rotating toothed escape-wheel, anchor, and trigger in such manner that at each periodical releasement of said escape-wheel by the operation of the trigger and anchor or anchor-escapement the reservoir ot' power willrotate the chambered breech to the required distance and simultaneously trip an independent ham mer, substantially as described.

3. So combiuingarotatingchambered breech with a reservoir of power and cock or hammer as ,that by the periodical releasement of said reservoir bymeans of the escape-wheel, trigger, and an anchorescapement said chambers shall be caused to rotate to their required distance and meet theblow of the hammer at the exact instant that each chamber in succession comes opposite the barrel, substantially as described.

4. Combining a reservoir of power with an independent cock or hammer so that by the periodical releasement of said reservoir of power said hammer shall be tripped at the exactmo- A 7. The conical plate and ring as a means by which the stoel; and spring-box are united to the frame so as to make a. firm connection, and at the same time allow the one to be turned upon the other for the purpose of coiling up or compressing the spring, substantially as described.

JEHU HOLLINGSWORTH.

- RALPH S. MERSHON.

Vitnesses:

L. P. MARSH, JOHN HAYNES. 

